HSBC Holdings has engaged in discussions to sell its unprofitable French retail bank to New York-based private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
The move is part of a global reorganisation of HSBC’s operations.
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The British multinational, which once marketed itself as the world’s local bank, is withdrawing from retail banking in France as it scales back in Europe and North America and boosts its presence in Asia, where it makes most of its profit.
The London-based bank is also considering selling its unprofitable US retail-banking network.
Cerberus plans to combine HSBC France with My Money Group, a French lender it acquired in 2017 from General Electric, according to Beunardeau, head of HSBC’s Continental European operations.
HSBC may continue to sell insurance in France
“Discussions are still ongoing and are expected to be for some weeks to come, and these may or may not lead to a transaction,” Mr. Beunardeau wrote.
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By GlobalDataThe proposed transaction involves only HSBC’s French retail-banking and wealth-management operations. The insurance and asset-management operations are not included.
HSBC may continue to distribute insurance and asset-management products through the French bank after the sale, Mr. Beunardeau said.
Of late, many European banks have been selling or closing operations in an effort to boost profitability.
In December, HSBC rebranded its French unit as HSBC Continental Europe and combined it with operations in Belgium, Spain, Italy, and other nations.
HSBC is undoing its prior European expansion
The sale would unwind a continental expansion that took root in 2000 with HSBC’s $10.6bn takeover of Credit Commercial de France, which it won in a bidding war with Dutch lender ING Groep.
Cerberus, which manages about $50bn, previously acquired Austria’s Bawag Group and Germany’s Hamburg Commercial Bank and bought stakes in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.
Cerberus was competing for HSBC France with AnaCap Financial Partners a London-based private-equity firm that specialises in financial companies, according to people familiar with the situation.
AnaCap planned to combine the HSBC unit with the French retail operations of Barclays, which it acquired in 2017. AnaCap rebranded the Barclays assets as Milleis Banque.
